Why Do We Not Cashout, When We Are Ahead ?

[bb28]

Enough is never really enough!

As Robwin says and it's the perfect summation.

[vegetagirl2008]

The whole trick of it is. Cash out once you start losing, if you see your credits going down, down, down. That is time to stop and hit that withdrawal button. I have done that one time (over 5k) and I said never again.

[Boris303]

Its the thrill of winning, its the feeling that you achieved/acomplished something and that makes you feel good. I too have wasted many a good win, and questioned myself plenty of times, its definitely not greed with me, well lets say its not that im greedy for money, its probably more true that im greedy for the thrill/buzz/sensation of hitting something big, but thats the whole gambling thing isn't it?

We all play for various reasons, and if we all approached this like a true proffessional then we all be withdrawing at exactly the right time, in fact we would have a hard and fast rule about what we did when we won a large amount (like wagering a percentage of the win or withdrawing 90% instantly, or something like that). But do we? No most of us don't, most of us go by our yearning to play more for whatever reasons.

When you either get a big win or very nearly get a big win when playing your brain releases endorphins, and as gamblers we are chasing the release of these endorphins by hitting a big win. Now the casinos are fully aware of this, and rather unfairly to us, it doesn't matter if we hit a big win, or get very close to a big win, our brain releases endorphins on both occasions. So its not by accident that you'll get many occasions playing that you think you could have nearly won, but in fact you didn't.

[Balky]

I agree with RobWin. The biggest and most crucial problem is GREED.
Greed too often makes us continue "only a lil bit more", mostly destroying the bankroll and even the entertainment of the game. The other day I was up a decent amount while playing videopoker. Instead of cashing out I had the brilliant idea to continue playing until I make up for the loss I had had a few days earlier - very optimistic and especially sooooo clever.
The surprising end of that story: ending balance zero. After that session I told myself that I learnt a lesson. (I must have a lousy memory since I keep learning exactly the same lesson).

Cheers Balky

[DaveG39]

Why do some of us not cashout when we are well ahead of the casino?

(1) The thrill of the playtime and hope that the next spin, may be a jackpot?

(2) Are we just gambling addicts?

(3) Is it for relaxation, to unwind after a hard day?

(4) Could it be just plain stupidity, shoulda , coulda, woulda , what ever excuse makes us feel better?

(5) Is it just for the pure enjoyment of the games?

(6) Is it lack of will power that makes us keep pushing the spin button, instead of the withdrawal one?

Im guilty of all , im sad to admit....................laurie

If it's 3 or 5, that's what the For Fun account is for, especially 3..use it
When all is said and done, it's most likely 6 (from which 1,2 & 4 derive).

[love2winalot]

The surprising end of that story: ending balance zero. After that session I told myself that I learnt a lesson. (I must have a lousy memory since I keep learning exactly the same lesson).

Hiya. The above quote tells it all.

As to the original question. You deposit $250. You win $500, and now have $750. WOW, WooHoo, Weeeeee, and so on. You would never have deposited $750 at one time. Your balance is as high as it has ever been.

OK, OK, I will just play the $50, and if i lose it, i will cash out. $60 Gone=oops

OK, OK, I will just win the $10 back, and cash out at $700. $80 gone=oops

Fine, OK, I still have $610 left, and if it drops to $500 I will cash out. $130 gone=oops

Darn OK, I have $470 left, and $220 of that is profit. Hmmm, If I cash out, i am left with my starting balance, or less. What if i lose that? What good is it to cash out only $220-$250, and if i lose, i just have to deposit it back in again?

I should have cashed out earlier....= see the above quote.........

A Few small cashouts are usually better than holding on and trying to get a single large cashout. imhop

[classymom]

I agree - greed is probably my main reason I dont cash out sooner. I also keep playing to make a withdrawal worthwhile - with all the fees we incur w/ withdrawals.

[secret2]

I agree, too. Greed.

In my case, when I won the RJ (see, I'm catching on with the lingo ) it seems that the money I won almost was the amount of my losses over the few months playing. Now I will have to lose a lot to win any substantial amount to cash out.

And one other thing...I won $200 and then received a speeding ticket that almost equalled that. Maybe it's the law of Checks and Balances, for me, anyway.

[DiamondGeezer]

It isn't just greed though but for me it is the difficulty of controlling the highs and lows.

You are playing and your spinning finger is hotter than Tiger Woods' putter. Your balance is going up and up. Surely this is the time to keep on playing because:

1) This is the first day this month your are actually in form - why stop on the one day things are going your way? Let's really nail this win!

2) OMG maybe this thing is having some sort of glitch and it going to continue like this for a while!

Many of you will laugh at such thoughts but in the heat of the moment I have found both arguments extremely persuasive. And when you get into the downward spiral it's so easy to get fixated by trying to recover your balance to a certain point.

It's not just greed with me but more the handling of the rush a winning session induces.

The way I have found is to keep a bonus back in another account - preferably a small deposit big bonus that I am unlikely to cash out, like a Rival slots for example. So when I hit a big win I will shut the first account off and then shoot away at the second. When the very likely bust out happens I will have come down off the high. My first balance is intact and my other balance is busted but not too much of my own cash is gone.

I always shut the first winning casino off real quick and will do my withdrawing the next day. I find the quick shut down works well for me because it also avoids the balance fixation that is so destructive.

If I have no bonus around I have even taken $100 to the poker tables. I will just blow it off in a few $10 tournaments and play incredibly badly, almost forcing myself to lose. I find things work out a lot cheaper this way and I get to have some fun too. Every so often I need to get reminded about the losing side of things. But just not in that losing the whole balance back way.

[shadow123]

deposited £50 at a casino last week (I dont have much spare cash for gambling nowdays). Anyway built it up to £600,cashed out £400,played with
the other £200 which went down rapidy, as it approached zero,I reversed
the £400 withdrawal (something I NEVER do), balance continued downwards
then shot back up due a nice bunch of santas.
Back at £600,I did the same thing again,withdrew £400, reversed when the balance got low,managed to get back to £500.Lost £100 and withdrew the £400 for the last time, should be flushed in a couple of hours.
Could have saved a lot of effort with a bit of will power, but end result wasnt too bad. The casino takes about 10 days to process withdrawals so no fun for me till then but I was pretty brain dead so the break wont be a bad thing.
The sensible approach should be to set a target, withdraw on reaching it and never reverse